It can be so frustrating and disheartening when you embark on your new fitness regime, work so hard on lifestyle changes and yet you don’t see the results you want? It could be that you are not feeling stronger, not toning up as you had expected or maybe it's a weight goal you were working towards or a new target in your running times. It can hit your motivation levels hard and you start thinking why am I doing this? So, this week I am going to give you some ideas as to why you might not be seeing the results you want and what you can do to fix it.
1. Check your nutrition - are you eating enough protein (or maybe eating enough full stop!). You should be eating 1g of protein for every kilogram you weigh so if you weigh 60kg you should be having 60g of protein in a day. Plus, if you’re strength training you might want to add an additional 15-30g on top of that. You need to really think about fuelling your body correctly to get the best results as well as working out your intake vs how much you are expending through exercise.
2. Prioritise your weight training. Are you finding you’re slogging away doing your cardio each week but by the time it comes to your strength work you haven’t got anything left to give? Make sure, you prioritise that strength work!
3. Daily steps. Your non-exercise energy expenditure is too low. Now, here I am talking about daily activity not exercise specifically – so, walking, moving around and generally being active. The more you move, the more you will see results.
4. Rest days. Working hard is key to progressing on your fitness journey but so is rest, recovery and sleep! You should be getting 8 hours sleep per night and incorporating 1-2 rest days every week when you’re training hard. You should also make sure you’re recovering properly and including active recovery is always a good idea – gentle walks, Pilates and yoga are always a big tick when it comes to helping your body recover from hard sessions.
5. Lastly and most importantly of all - have you got your weights right? Are you lifting too heavy or too light? If you’re doing 10 reps of an exercise or you’re getting to the end of 30 seconds work and you still have more to give and could do a few more reps without too much trouble then it’s time to up those weights. You’re not going to see improvement if you’re not challenging yourself. Equally, if you are meant to be doing sets of 10 and you’re only managing 5 or 6 then you might have ramped that weight up too quickly and the chances are your form might be suffering as a result.
There is one thing for sure though and that is consistency is key to success. If you are doing the above correctly, eating well and working hard in your sessions regularly then the results will come. Keep going! If you’re struggling for motivation or finding it tricky to stay on track take a look at my recent summer fitness blog with all my tips to keep you motivated towards your goals.
Caroline’s Circuits is the online fitness platform I have built to help you build your strength and fitness, enhance overall health and wellbeing whilst bringing you the results you’re after.
The workouts are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am (they are all recorded and available to you on demand within an hour of the session if you can’t make the live). Classes have been specifically designed to suit all fitness levels and create fitness habits which last & which produce results.
Intrigued to know more or have a go? Try a class for free here or read more about the platform here.
If you have any questions please do get in touch.
For more workout ideas and to find out a bit more about me check out my Instagram.
Caroline x
